Contribution to the development of the Bronze Age plant economy in the surrounding of the Alps : an archaeobotanical case study of two Early and Middle Bronze Age sites in northern Italy (Lake Garda region)

During the Bronze Age human communities became more and more complex in their social organization and subsistence economy. A crucial role was played by the production of metal objects, which intensified exchange of goods and established new trade routes, but farming and animal husbandry were still the stronghold of Bronze Age economy. They underwent some innovations such as the introduction of new cultivars (e.g. spelt and millet), the intensification of pulse cultivation and the diffusion of rotation systems. The present research contributed to the reconstruction of the development of plant economy during the Bronze Age, within and in the surroundings of the Alps. A comprehensive archaeobotanical study has been carried out on two of the currently-excavated Bronze Age (Early and Middle Bronze Age phases) lake-dwelling sites (Lavagnone and Lucone D) in the Lake Garda area of northern Italy. The investigation in these sites south of the Alps is crucial to understand the spread of Bronze Age plant economy in the Po Plain, into the Alpine valleys and finally to the regions North of the Alps. The standard methods of archaeobotany concerning sample strategy and quantitative analysis have been applied. This has formed the basis for a reliable comparison of lake dwelling cultures and husbandry between the northern and southern sides of the Alps. Plant macrofossil analysis focused on crop and weed assemblages collected from all archaeological layers, as well as on macroremains representing the local flora, useful for a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Important results have been obtained in both sites. A large variety of cereal crops have been detected in both age periods. Emmer, the ‘new glume wheat’ type (NGW), barley and einkorn resulted to be the most important cereals, while spelt and naked wheat (both, 4n and 6n) were secondary crops. The abundance of the NGW remains is particularly noteworthy. The spread of broomcorn millet cultivation and of pulses (mainly horsebean) have been detected in the MBA layers of Lavagnone. The rich weed spectra and several archaeological finds such as farming tools allowed reconstructing crop husbandry practices. The finds of a conspicuous amount of wild edible plants testifies the large contribution of gathered species in food supply. Thanks to excellent preservation of plant remains in both sites and comparison with pollen data, we reconstructed open land, the perilacustrine belt, the aquatic habitats and their dynamics. The importance of open environments, particularly fallow land and dry meadows, is documented by a high number of open habitat plant taxa and also detected by the analysis of ruminants (goats and sheep) coprolites recovered from sediment samples. In addition some remarkable finds such as several complete ears of “new glume wheat” (Triticum nn, possibly T. timopheevi), a necklace made of Staphylea pinnata L. (bladder-nut) seeds and marble stones, Carthamus tinctorius (safflower) achenes, and Orlaya grandiflora fruits shed light on the history of these taxa and pathways from their native range. Thus, they corroborate the arguments about probable trade routes across the Alps

A smart wearable sensor system for counter-fighting overweight in teenagers

PEGASO is a FP7-funded project whose goal is to develop an ICT and mobile-based platform together with an appropriate strategy to tackle the diffusion of obesity and other lifestyle-related illnesses among teenagers. Indeed, the design of an engaging strategy, leveraging a complementary set of technologies, is the approach proposed by the project to promote the adoption of healthy habits such as active lifestyle and balanced nutrition and to effectively counter-fight the emergence of overweight and obesity in the younger population. A technological key element of such a strategy sees the adoption of wearable sensors to monitor teenagersâ\u80\u99 activities, which is at the basis of developing awareness about the current lifestyle. This paper describes the experience carried out in the framework of the PEGASO project in developing and evaluating wearable monitoring systems addressed to adolescents. The paper describes the methodological approach based on the co-designing of such a wearable system and the main results that, in the first phase, involved a total of 407 adolescents across Europe in a series of focus groups conducted in three countries for the requirements definition phase. Moreover, it describes an evaluation process of signal reliability during the usage of the wearable system. The main results described here are: (a) a prototype of the standardized experimental protocol that has been developed and applied to test signal reliability in smart garments; (b) the requirements definition methodology through a co-design activity and approach to address user requirements and preferences and not only technological specifications. Such co-design approach is able to support a higher system acceptance and usability together with a sustained adoption of the solution with respect to the traditional technology push system development strategy

Aleitamento materno: benefícios e fatores associados

RESUMO: O aleitamento materno consiste no contato direto entre a mãe e o bebê para o exercício da amamentação e configura-se como um fator importante para o desenvolvimento saudável do lactente. Este trabalho tem como objetivo abordar os benefícios da amamentação para a criança e para a nutriz, bem como alguns fatores relacionados ao aleitamento materno. A metodologia utilizada foi um levantamento de cinco artigos em língua portuguesa e inglesa, publicados entre os anos de 2012 a 2015 no banco de dados SciELO, PubMED e Google Acadêmico. Os resultados demonstram inúmeros benefícios do aleitamento materno à saúde do lactente, bem como para a saúde da nutriz. Para a criança, a amamentação contribuiu para o desenvolvimento neurológico, nutricional, metabólico, orofacial adequados e à prevenção de doenças gastrointestinais, distúrbios nutricionais e alergias. Nas mães, os benefícios mais comuns foram prevenção de câncer de ovário, mama, prevenção de osteoporose e diminuição do risco de hemorragia pós-parto. Os resultados sobre os fatores secundários que se relacionam à prática do aleitamento estão relacionados a aspectos culturais, biológicos e psicossociais. Conclui-se, portanto, que a amamentação é essencial para o desenvolvimento imunológico e craniofacial do lactente, prevenção da obesidade e é relacionado com a redução da mortalidade neonatal. No entanto, é possível evidenciar barreiras biológicas, psicossociais e culturais que interferem na prática da amamentação. Posto isso, é necessário a ação conjunta de programas públicos e profissionais de saúde para ampliar o conhecimento da sociedade em geral acerca dos pontos positivos da amamentação.Palavras-chave:Aleitamento Materno. Benefícios. Amamentação

The Botanical Record of Archaeobotany Italian Network - BRAIN: a cooperative network, database and website

Con autorización de la revista para autores CSIC[EN] The BRAIN (Botanical Records of Archaeobotany Italian Network) database and network was developed by the cooperation of archaeobotanists working on Italian archaeological sites. Examples of recent research including pollen or other plant remains in analytical and synthetic papers are reported as an exemplar reference list. This paper retraces the main steps of the creation of BRAIN, from the scientific need for the first research cooperation to the website which has a free online access since 2015.Peer reviewe

Ursus spelaeus from Grotta Sopra Fontana Marella, Campo dei Fiori massif (Varese, Italy): Morphometry and paleoecology

The paleontological study on cave bear remains from the Grotta Sopra Fontana Marella (Campo dei Fiori massif, Varese, Italy) is here presented. The cave bear material was collected in three different levels of the cave stratigraphical sequence which are assigned to Late Pleistocene by radiometric ages and aminoacid racemization analysis. This deposit gives us the rare opportunity to compare cave bear remains that lived in the same geographical areas but at different time intervals. Cave bears from the oldest level (FM4) had a peculiar mandible morphology and a smaller body size than cave bears from the uppermost levels (FM1 and FM2). We propose that this change in body size is related to a paleoclimatic trend from FM4 towards a colder phase (FM1 and FM2), the latter corresponding to the last maximum expansion of glaciers in the Italian Alps. Morphometric analysis of bones and teeth allowed to determine minimum number of individuals, class ages and sex ratio for each cave bear fossil assemblage

Use of Supercritical Assisted Atomization to produce nanoparticles from olive pomace extract

Olive pomace is one of the most interesting wastes containing bioactive compounds; the extraction of polyphenols can represent an innovative solution for the reduction of the environmental hazard of this solid and the simultaneous recovery of high-added value compounds. In this study, Supercritical Assisted Atomization (SAA) was employed for the encapsulation in maltodextrin of phenolic compounds extracted from olive pomace. The effect of the ratio of maltodextrin content to total solid content of the extract and drying temperature on physical characteristics, total phenolic content and antioxidant properties of the powdered product were studied. The results confirmed the efficiency of the SAA process to encapsulate phenolic compounds from olive pomace extract. Particles with average diameter of 712 nm with high total polyphenol content (105.0 \ub1 0.1 mgCaffeic Acid Equivalent/gDry Powder) and antiradical power (98.8 \ub1 3.0 mgDPPH/mLextract) were obtained. These particles rich in bioactive compounds can be used as functional component in formulations of new food, cosmetic or pharmaceutical products. Industrial relevance Olive pomace is considered to be a low-cost and renewable source of high-added value compounds, such as polyphenols which can be valorized by several methodologies. In this work, we assessed the efficiency of Supercritical Assisted Atomization (SAA) in order to encapsulate phenolic compounds extracted from olive pomace. The particles obtained by SAA have spherical morphology with average diameter of 712 nm. The polyphenol-rich nanoparticles produced using this technique can be potentially used in the formulation of novel food or nutraceutical products

Uomo, natura e territorio. L’evoluzione del paesaggio della Lombardia orientale

Descrizione delle vicende del popolamento umano, delle associazioni vegetali e animali dall'ultimo max glaciale ad oggi nella Lombardia orientale

In vivo immunopotentiating activity of thymopentin in aging humans: Modulation of IL-2 receptor expression

The effect of thymopentin treatment was investigated in immunocompromized elderly subjects. Thymopentin was able to increase IL-2 production and IL-2 receptor expression, as assessed on PHA-activated blasts by percentage of Tac-positive cells and response to exogenous IL-2. After treatment, an increased precursor frequency, estimated by limiting dilution analysis, of PHA-responding lymphocytes was observed in two out of six subjects tested. In vitro experiments with thymopentin show that the drug was able to enhance blastogenesis by PHA of elderly lymphocytes but not of adult cells. These results indicate that (a) the increased IL-2 synthesis/IL-2 receptor expression may be the crucial mechanism of the immunopotentiating activity of the drug in elderly subjects and (b) an increased intrinsic T-cell responsiveness seems to be responsible for this immunopotentiating activity, although an increase in the size of the responsive T-cell pool could not be excluded